The Art of Stalking
by Hellhound15
Summary: Side story to 'Sickness'. Itachi and Shisui Uchiha are sent on a long term mission to Hogwarts. For a year, they will have to deal with the likes of unicorns, fangirls and a Harry Potter who thinks he can take on the world. HP and Naruto Crossover.
1. The Client

**Author's Note;** This is a side story to my story 'Sickness'.

Sasuke mentioned in Chapter 6 that Itachi was at Hogwarts on a mission.

This is set before the Uchiha Massacre and in the 3rd book in the Harry Potter series.

**Ages;**

Itachi: 11

Shisui: 19

Sasuke: 6

Harry: 13

**Disclaimer; **Harry Potter and Naruto does NOT belong to me!

* * *

Itachi disliked interruptions.

He disliked them even more when they cut the precious little time he had with his younger brother. But this was a summoning coming from the Sandaime, so he couldn't just ignore it like he wanted to. He sent an apologetic look at Sasuke, completely ignoring the stuttering of the Chunin messenger. Sasuke merely nodded and turned his attention back to the mission report that he was writing since Kakashi was never bothered to do it himself.

Itachi barely gave a distracted tilt of the head to the stammering Chunin before he flickered to the Hokage Tower.

That was where he discovered that one of his _supposedly_ exact theories was incorrect.

There _was_ someone alive who was as old as the Sandaime, but from his choice of clothing, he was also much more senile. Even though he had been temporarily blinded by the dazzling turquoise that was the odd grandpa's robes, Itachi could sense someone in the room other than the Sandaime, the sparkling man and himself. It was quite familiar too…

"Shisui-nii?"

"Ahhh…Yes, Raven, Coyote will be on this long term mission with you," Itachi carefully controlled his muscles so that he appeared not to even twitch. The Sandaime only called them by their ANBU animals if it was a high rank mission.

"This mission will be from S to unranked in the level of difficulty. You will be guarding a school called Hogwarts where students from the ages of eleven to eighteen will be learning magic," here, Itachi observed the strangely dressed old man look puzzled. Perhaps he had expected protests that magic was not real. Who did he think they were? _Genin?_ Itachi resisted the intense urge to scoff.

If the Hokage were to say that they sky was green, any shinobi or kunoichi above the rank of Chunin would have already changed their minds to suit his purpose, no matter how much their logical mind protested. If the Hokage were to say that magic existed, who were _they_ to object?

"Your client here is Dumbledore Albus, the Headmaster of Hogwarts. You will be protecting his school from a criminal who is said to be hunting down one of his students. You will also be guarding that student, Potter Harry, as the boy is prone to being reckless. The rest of the information you need are on these scrolls. There is the layout of the school, the profile of Potter Harry, the recent history of the happenings in the Magical World, some facts that might help you and a note of all things you are required to accomplish during this one year mission," The Sandaime pushed forward a pile of thick scrolls which they both picked up.

"Albus-san, these are ANBU Raven and Coyote. Raven, Coyote, you may introduce yourselves." Shisui was the one to take the lead and took off his mask.

"Dumbledore-san, I am ANBU Coyote, Uchiha Shisui, and aged 19 years. I am also known as _Shisui of the Mirage_ or _The Master of Shunshin_. Ranked A in the Bingo book."

Itachi shifted his eyes to stare straight into those blue ones that strangely reminded him of the Yondaime's.

"I am ANBU Raven, Uchiha Itachi, 11 years. I can be known as the _Uchiha Prodigy, the Sharingan Master, the Konoha Red Eyed Demon_, pick what you prefer. Ranked A in all Bingo books except S ranked in Iwa."

Turning away from those pensive azure eyes, he stood to attention before the Sandaime.

"You will both report here at 0730 tomorrow morning. Mission intelligence will be handed to me monthly by Chunin or Jounin messengers. ANBU Raven and Coyote, _Dismissed_."

Both ANBU bowed and departed in puffs of clouds and leaves.

* * *

Dumbledore was uncertain.

When he had requested two of Sarutobi's best shinobi, he had not expected a boy who couldn't be older than twenty, from the sound of his voice. He couldn't see the face because it had been covered by a porcelain mask that was curled into the image of a canine, but he could distinctly see the spiked black hair and a sword tied to his back. Sarutobi had acknowledged the masked man as ANBU Coyote. Perhaps he had assumed wrongly, ANBU _was_ a very hard position to get into after all.

When there was a lash of wind, he strained his eyes over his half-moon glasses to see the other guard. It was a_ boy_. He was as small as a first year with long black hair tied back and similarly colored eyes absolutely blank. That frightened him. Even _Tom Riddle_ hadn't had such eyes at that age. Who was this boy?

Sarutobi addressed the boy as Raven and continued to debrief the mission to the boy. And all the while, the child had stood completely still without so much as a twitch of a finger or shift of a strand of hair.

Dumbledore watched patiently, wanting to see the child's reaction to the mention of magic, but he was sorely disappointed when the boy didn't even blink. He was very confused. Years ago, when he had hired a team of Genin with a Jounin instructor, the blond boy had refused to believe that it was true until he had start making the ceiling snow and the floor turn into quicksand.

Minato had been very sure that Dumbledore was just another grandpa gone senile who had been sprouting nonsense. Jiraiya had laughed his head off at the poor boy's misfortune after having to dig himself out of the floor. Later, Jiraiya had solemnly thanked him for making Minato act like a kid again. The boy had been so uptight those past months because of the imminent threat of a war with Iwa.

When Sarutobi motioned for the boys to introduce themselves, it was the masked one who stepped forward first. He had slipped the canine shaped mask to the side of his head and tilted his head to observe Dumbledore's reaction at his youthful looking face. When all he got was a thoughtful look, he spoke.

"Dumbledore-san, I am ANBU Coyote, Uchiha Shisui, and aged 19 years. I am also known as _Shisui of the Mirage_ or _The Master of Shunshin_. Ranked A in the Bingo book."

So young and he was already ranked so high. He should have trusted Sarutobi to choose a good one but he still did not know what to think of the younger one. His eyes locked onto impassive black pits.

"I am ANBU Raven, Uchiha Itachi, 11 years. I can be known as the _Uchiha Prodigy, the Sharingan Master, the Konoha Red Eyed Demon_, pick what you prefer. Ranked A in all Bingo books except S ranked in Iwa."

All this was said in a straight and crisp tone and with no inflections in his words to help identify emotions. He wondered how such a young boy could have such a high rank in the Bingo book and what the child had done to warrant an S rank in Iwa. Glancing back over at those eyes again, he decided that perhaps he was better off not knowing.

Sarutobi finished speaking to both ANBU and they vanished in twin bursts of smoke. Looking at Sarutobi's amused expression, he conceded defeat.

"So, are they up to your level?"

Dumbledore nodded.

Two ANBU _should_ be enough to protect Hogwarts.

Glimpsing Sarutobi's possibly downright devious expression, he idly wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

Please review and tell me what you think about it!

Thank you!


	2. That Morning

Itachi couldn't sleep.

Of course he couldn't. He was going to leave his younger brother alone to be preyed on by malicious cheek pinching Aunts and cooing eyelash-batting fangirls, for a _year_.

It was much too long, he decided.

So he frog marched a bleary eyed Sasuke from the Uchiha Clan Condo and dragged him all the way to Forest of Death and sat him down at the entrance gate.

Only ANBU or Jounin would be up this early in the morning and only ANBU trained in the Forest. It was quite empty at this time of day, with only a group of ANBU passing by.

"Sasuke," Itachi began with uttermost somberness and with an air of seriousness about him. A few ANBU stopped to listen in. "There will be a time that you will have to deal with the most terrifying creature in the Shinobi Continents. And I, unfortunately, will not be able to protect you." The ANBU had forgotten all sense of discretion and leant forward in interest.

"I will be away on this mission for a year and there is a great likelihood that they will attack you during that time period."

ANBU weren't supposed to be that obvious in their spying, were they?

"You will find that they are nearly unstoppable and will do nearly anything to get you in their clutches. This includes a lot of seduction, crying and clawing at you."

Many ANBU decided that this was a very serious threat and sat themselves down to listen closer.

"They are called…" Everyone held their breath. "Fangirls."

Some ANBU couldn't help themselves and cracked up, but most nodded solemnly in agreement.

"But do not fear, I have found some scrolls filled with the teachings of the Yondaime Hokage which might one day save your life from them."

Itachi pulled out a few scrolls and opened them with a flourish. Even those who had been laughing leaned in curiously.

* * *

**The Writings of the Yondaime Hokage**

**Namikaze Minato**

_Lesson 1_

_How to escape from the Fangirl population_

I have found that the best way to escape from a swarm of Fangirls is by Hiraishining the hell away, but for those who do not have the fortune of doing so, the greatest chance of success is by taking her shopping.

Now, don't look at the scroll like that! I'm going to explain this.

When she is looking through the selection of clothing, insist for her to try something on. Surely she will agree just to please you. She will go to the change rooms and take a while to make herself look pretty. By the time she has stepped out, you would have already reached a safe house and barricaded yourself in.

* * *

_Lesson 2_

_How to escape from the foreign Fangirl population_

When visiting another country or nation, always keep a handy book about laws on hand. Usually, in the law book, there will be a jurisdiction that forbids anyone from harassing an heir/ prince/ guest/etc. in any shape or form. If not, just make one up and by the time they've searched it up, you would have disappeared already.

_Note; This might not work if you are not an intellectual type of person._

* * *

_Lesson 3_

_How to escape from a Fangirl who thinks you're just in denial_

I have met quite a few of this species of Fangirl. They are quite similar to the breed that is violent when she doesn't-

* * *

Itachi rolled up the scroll there and handed it over to his younger brother.

"I advise you to memorize all of these as they may one day save your life."

Sasuke nodded seriously.

Fangirls must be _very_dangerous creatures if Itachi was so scared of them.

* * *

Shisui liked observing people.

People were very interesting because they developed quirks that they themselves did not notice. So it was up to Shisui to do it for them.

Kakashi's quirk wasn't being late or making stupid excuses for his lateness. No, those were just done to commemorate the dead. His quirk was wearing masks. It was in both the literal and figurative sense. Kakashi seemed to enjoy showing people different masks of his personality. He did it so much that people sometimes wondered if they were discussing the same person.

Yondaime-sama's quirk had been collecting ramen receipts. He would pin them all over the walls of the Hokage Tower and his own house. It was as if he didn't want to be forgotten and left bits of himself behind.

Anko-san's quirk was the hardest to figure out. For a long time, Shisui had believed that one of the craziest of them all didn't have a quirk at all. But he discovered it in the end. Anko-san liked making pictures or patterns. She would fling throwing knives or senbon at a wall or a person and toss them so that they made pictures. Most of the time, they were the Konoha symbol or the letter A.

Itachi's quirk was pocky. It only took Shisui a week to find that one out. At every town, Itachi would always subconsciously search for a shop that sold pocky. When he was _bored_ he ate pocky. When he was _anxious_ he wolfed down pocky. When he was _angry_ he gorged himself on pocky. You could usually tell Itachi's mood by how he was eating his pocky or counting the boxes of pocky he ate.

So he wasn't surprised when he found Itachi sitting surrounded by piles of pocky containers in the Hokage Tower. And counting the empty ones, he could tell that Itachi was worried. And taking a wild guess, he presumed that he was worried about Sasuke.

Shisui mentally shrugged.

He couldn't do much when Itachi was in this state of mind.

He settled down next to Itachi, careful not to crush any of Itachi's precious pocky boxes.

* * *

Shisui watched the clock hand tick on 7:30 and there was a sharp cracking sound. Sandaime-sama looked up from the paperwork he was filling out and greeted Dumbledore. Their client told them to hold onto a dull looking sword scabbard in three minutes.

"Raven!" The Sandaime threw a thick looking book at Itachi which was caught with graceful ease. Itachi's masked head tilted in question. "This book belonged to the Yondaime. It is the second one that I believe you were searching for. The things written there may one day save your life."

Itachi seemed to read the front cover and his mood appeared to shift. He held the book reverently as if it held the teachings that would save the human civilization. He sealed it into a scroll which he then tucked into one of the numerous pockets that lined the ANBU cloak.

Shisui's fascination was drawn.

But he never got to ask as he felt an abrupt tug to his navel.

It didn't matter; Shisui would _not_ stop until he found out what was written on that book.


	3. Arriving

Dumbledore observed the two ANBU.

Both had landed perfectly on their feet, even though he was sure that it was the first time they had ever travelled by portkey. The portkey had set them down just at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and he could see Hagrid's Hut a few metres away.

The two ANBU looked quite terrifying with only porcelain masks peeking from cream hooded robes. He could tell that they were on high alert by the subtle shifts in their stances and the clawed glove-clothed hand that slipped from Raven's slightly unbuttoned robe.

He beckoned for them to follow him, and quickly started walking in the direction of the castle.

"Raven, Coyote, how do you plan to be introduced to the students?" Dumbledore had long discovered that it was best to be straight and to the point while speaking to shinobi.

It was Raven who answered.

"We will not be disclosing any of our techniques."

"Oh? But won't the students respect and listen to you more if you show your skills?"

"Children are careless. They will tell their parents or guardians and the news of our skills will reach Black. There may even be a spy in your midst. It is better that everyone underestimates us."

Dumbledore understood the points that Raven made, but the teachers, especially Severus, would not listen to the guards if they did not show their capabilities.

"The teachers will listen to you. Even if they don't, once there is a situation we need to take care of, and _rest assured_ there will, we will need to use some techniques. Until then, it is best for them to stay uninformed."

Dumbledore started and stared at Coyote. How had the ANBU known what he was thinking about? It got even more confusing when Coyote threw himself onto the grass and started throwing a tantrum.

"Oh cruel World! I can't believe I had to use _logic_ of all things to win an argument! Do you see what you've made me do?"

Dumbledore was sure that there was a dumbfounded look on his face. Was this really the older of the two ANBU? He decided to ignore the childish ANBU and asked another question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Will you be showing your faces?"

Both ANBU tilted their head in an eerily synchronized and sinister way, as if they had spent days just perfecting the timing.

"That depends on the client," Raven answered in a disturbing monotone. "Would you like me to list the benefits and negatives?"

Dumbledore nodded, trying desperately to claw on to his grandfatherly façade so that his anxiety didn't show. It seemed like he didn't succeed by the amused tilt of the heads from both ANBU.

"The students would be more likely to trust us if we show our faces, but they will be less likely to respect us. There are chances that Black may use our uniforms as a disguise to sneak into the school. If we show our faces to the teachers, they will be able to pick him out, as no one besides the teachers and you will know our features. He will not be able to look like us if he does not know what we look like. However, the teachers will be less likely to obey us during a dangerous situation and they will try to hinder our movements."

He considered these points and decided that the ANBUs' faces should only be revealed if necessary.

"Is there anything… you would like to tell me?" He was curious when Coyote tipped his head at Raven and Raven gave a nod back. His interest was drawn out further more as Raven and Coyote took off their masks.

"The Uchiha Clan has a bloodlimit," He was definitely fascinated now. He definitely hadn't known that. "It is called the _Sharingan_," here, Shisui paused and something absolutely extraordinary occurred. Both boys' eyes flickered into a ruby that was reminiscent of the eyes of Voldemort. But there were slight differences that were most unusual. Three commas spun lazily in the pools of crimson and Dumbledore could feel a faint tug on his mind as he looked into them. He could sense a slight illusion forming around him; distorting his awareness and drawing a mist over his thoughts. He shook it off and wondered what these boys were fully capable of.

Shisui had an entertained expression, as if Dumbledore was a curious specimen that he would enjoy observing and taking notes on.

"With these eyes, we can watch the flow of your chakra and predict what spell or jutsu you are preparing to cast. We can tell if someone is under an illusion, which will be helpful when trying to identify people under the Imperious. The Sharingan allows us to track fast moving objects, even the paths of spells. It also allows us to have photographic memory and the ability to do spells or jutsus that we have seen performed. The last ability of the Sharingan is casting illusions with eye contact. Some, like Raven, can cast illusions without eye contact."

The glint in Shisui's eyes had turned predatory, eager to see Dumbledore's expression after all the information had sunk in. He was disappointed when Dumbledore did not react.

"Is there… anything else?"

Shisui smirked.

"You're in luck, old man. Raven here is the _Clan Heir_, so the Uchiha blood runs purest in him and his brother. His talent with the Sharingan is nearly flawless." This comment was accompanied by a sly smirk. Dumbledore was shocked, but he quickly controlled his face. They had sent him a _Clan Heir_? Even he knew how valuable they were. Itachi's soft voice cut through his maelstrom of thoughts.

"Do not fear that I have been coddled. I have killed men and women alike since the age of four." This time he could not control his expression and the horror must have shown on his face, because Itachi inclined his head in a strangely bird-like gesture with something _vaguely_ resembling a smile playing across his lips.

He continued up the hill to the giant doors of the castle with both once again masked ANBU striding behind him. He cleared his throat and turned around with the grandfatherly façade in place.

"You will both be teaching the History class, correct?"

There was the spine-chilling identical inclination of the head again and Dumbledore let out a relieved breath. The huge doors to the school swung open.

"_Who_ might these be, Dumbledore? They look quite like Death Eaters to me. Or are they students? _That_ one's certainly short enough."

Dumbledore sighed. His day just got worse.

"Severus, these two are the guards I hired."

He wished he had a camera when Severus made a very good attempt at imitating a fish.

"Snape-_san_, long time no see. Wish it could have been longer."

**"YOU!"**


	4. Genius or Insanity?

**Author's Note; **I'm really sorry for taking so long to update! I got a new computer and it didn't have any programs! But I'm back now! YAY! Sorry for the short chapter!

For some reason, I've got back into the Hetalia fandom. Do you think I should start writing Hetalia fanfics?

Kolkolkolkolkolkol~! Become one with Mother Russia!

**Disclaimer;** Naruto and Harry Potter does not belong to me!

* * *

Shisui was seriously reconsidering accepting this mission.

He had just found out that one of the teachers at Hogwarts was the man he had met six years ago at a Pureblood function. As in, the man that he had _accidentally _dumped a gallon of chocolate pudding, maple syrup and mayonnaise on. And little Itachi just had to make the situation worse by informing the seething man that his hair would never be the same ever again. Shisui had never felt a greater urge to strangle anyone at that moment.

The situation got bleaker when Snape turned his glaring eyes in Itachi's direction.

"And... _who_ might you be?"

Not for the first time, Shisui wished that he had telepathic powers so that he could make sure his younger cousin didn't make the mood tenser by insulting Snape in a roundabout manner. _Please, please. Just don't make a smart comment! I'll even buy you a year's worth of pocky! _

"I am ANBU Raven," He breathed in a soft sigh of relief to himself. That breath soon got stuck in his throat as he panicked when he looked in Itachi's direction. _We're gonna die. We're all gonna die!_

You see, Shisui had babysat Itachi for years and he had learnt the fine art of reading the body language of Itachi. When Itachi rubbed his palms and fingertips together, he was anxious or nervous. When he tapped his left wrist, he was disinterested but when he tapped his right, he was subtly telling you to 'hurry the fuck up, I'm busy'.

And now, Shisui's mental dictionary of Itachi signals was screaming at him to flee as far away as fast as possible. The reason? Itachi had just tilted his head to the right. And he never did that unless he was determined to do something drastic and dangerous that no one would be able to deter him from. The plan would always seem very much logical to Itachi, but it just left everyone else staring blankly in confusion. Like that time he made all the Jounin wear a dress for a day so he could make a cabbage milkshake. Yes, that included the _Copy Ninja_. No one ever found out how Itachi got Kakashi-senpai to agree. And that had been when Itachi was only _eight_. Who knew what he could do now.

"Dumbledore-san," Shisui squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable explosion. "I would like to meet the leader of the Dementors."

His eyes filkered open in surprise. That didn't sound as insane or wacky as some of the things Itachi had done before.

Wait... His mind short circuited and landed on the memory of a book with the definition of 'Dementor'.

_'Dementor _**吸魂鬼**_;' _A soul sucking demon that breeds and survives upon human happiness and spreads depression and despair. Once it has taken your soul, there is no chance of reincarnation or rebirth. It is often associated with the _Veil _and depicted as the servants of the _Shinigami_.

And Itachi wanted to meet their_ leader_?

* * *

Itachi found their shocked expressions vaguely amusing.

"B-but why would you want to do that?" Itachi frowned from behind his mask. Did they really not understand or were they mocking his plan?

"The Dementors will be guarding the perimeters while we guard the school. It will be diplomatic to introduce ourselves so that we can interact and communicate if needed. If we do not meet them, it will be hard to secure the objective effectively."

Seeing their understanding expressions, he tagged on.

"I also want to experiment on something..."

* * *

Severus raised an eyebrow in mocking surprise.

Well didn't that sound forboding. The reasoning was sound but he had the feeling that dealing with the leader of the Dementors was a very _very_ bad idea. He snapped around with a flourish, black robes swirling dramatically.

"Sn-ap-e-sa~n! Where are you going?"

He stilled, the hand pressed to the Great Doors clenched white.

"As far _away_ from _you_ as possible." With that he shoved the doors open and disappeared around a corner. He had to go and hide anything possibly disastrous to his hair and inform the House Elves that they should put a very special laxative in a particular person's food. It wouldn't do for the boy to think he could get away with what he did to Severus' hair after all. It never had been the same.

* * *

Far _far_ away from Hogwarts, someone recieved a message.

_My Lord,_

_Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui have been sent on a year long mission._

He smiled to himself. _Well_... this was interesting news. He could use this to his advantage then.

With that, Orochimaru burnt the letter and left the room.

He had some planning to do.


	5. Meeting 'The Leader'

**Meeting the Leader**

**Author's Note;** after proof reading this chapter, I realised that there was a lot of POV switching happening. Forgive me if you lose track of who's POV it is.

**Disclaimer;** No matter how much I wish, I'll probably never own Naruto or Harry Potter. The only one I own is the characterisation of the 'The Leader'. But even that was based off something else. Search up his name if you're really interested.

* * *

The leader of the Dementors was awe inspiring and impressive and he most definitely did_ not _sulk.

Fine, he _was_ sulking, but only in a _grand_ and _stately_ way (if you could do that).

The reason he was sulking grandly and stately was also equally suspenseful and thrilling. No, really.

It was because no one ever remembered his name and only called him 'The Leader'. That was a very impressive title and all that, but still not his name. Sure, he shouldn't have called himself 'Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim', but it had sounded magnificent and imposing at the time he had chosen it. But even he had to admit that his subjects weren't the smartest of beings so he shouldn't have expected them to have remembered it.

PATBVH (or 'The Leader') sighed depressingly. Having such a striking reputation also had its low points. No one ever visited him, being too frightened of his authority, and he felt rather lonely living in such a huge mansion by himself. Well, not quite by himself. Some of his Dementors who guarded his other fort, Azkaban, still visited him with updates every few decades.

He cheered up when he saw that one of his subjects would be coming around today. The day had been marked out on his stone wall where he had scratched out a calender for the next few centuries during one of his frequent bouts of boredom. He had been awaiting and preparing for this day for the past year, disregarding the fact his subject would only stay for a minute or so. Any company someone allowed him was very welcome.

'Perhaps something interesting had happened out in the Outside world? Maybe a few more prisoners were dragged in?' He thought eagerly. Nothing all that dramatic ever happened and 'The Leader' was sure the Azkaban was secure enough that no one would ever break out. A few more prisoners was the most he ever hoped for.

Rubbing his freezing and numb hands together, he intently awaited the opportunity to greet his guest as the giant doors to the Grand Entrance creaked open.

Maybe they would stay for a bit longer this time?

* * *

Severus was chilly, pissed and going to curse open Dumbledore's stomach and strangle the insane old coot with his own enthrals.

He still couldn't _believe_ that _he _of all people was accompanying the two guards and Dumbledore to meet the 'Leader' of the Dementors. Extra emphasis on the _Leader_ part.

And it was fucking cold here. _Why_ of _all _times, did the sky decide to start blizzarding _now_? Was this a sign that they shouldn't continue? A signal from above that told them Dumbledore had made the wrong choice? His delirious thoughts were cut short as their guard, a Dementor, stopped its sweeping glide (that he himself was still trying to perfect) in front of a pair of enormous black metal doors. A shiver made its way down his spine.

This was it.

They were all going to die.

The doors squeaked open at a slight push (and why the hell did it have to sound so creepy?). He watched as the stupid, ignorant twits that were the two guards, shifted closer in curiosity.

He resisted the urge to run away screaming like a little Hufflepuff. Even if he was a Slytherin with Slytherin self preservation tendencies, he also had Slytherin pride that would _not_ allow him to do so.

Severus' expression turned deadpan as the door was _still_ swinging open ominously.

How long was thing going to take?

* * *

'The Leader' grinned gleefully to himself as he pressed the button on his remote control.

It would make the door open slowly, but not slowly enough that his guest decided to ditch him and not come back for another decade.

The blizzard outside was also a special effect that he put around his mansion. He knew that his subjects liked colder weather, and so, to encourage them to come again, he had put those up.

It was a nice day, 'The Leader' thought to himself.

* * *

Itachi had to say that he was impressed.

'The Leader' must be a professional.

First off, the castle had been located very high up on top of a mountain that surpassed the clouds. That would deter many people from trying access it as the air grew colder and thinner, making it harder to breathe and climb at the same time.

Next, the blizzard made the circumstances worse, further discouraging entry.

Finally, the haunting shriek of the rusting door would scare away potential trespassers.

Yes, Itachi found himself very much looking forward to meeting a fellow paranoid companion.

They would be able to discuss many battle strategies together.

He just knew he had made the correct decision before.

* * *

Shisui was disappointed.

He had been expecting a giant of a man who towered over them, or at least a sickly pale vampire looking thing.

He had_ not _expected a half starved child.

The boy was a head shorter than Itachi and skeleton-like in his thinness. His cheeks were hollow and guant and eyes bulging from his sunken eye sockets. And on top of his head, his hair was a long yellow tangled mess, oily and half covering his glaze twitching gold eyes. Milky white skin, that was nearly transeculent with blue and green veins snaking under it, like a spider web stretched over boney quivering hands. The boy stood in a ragged black robe that barely reached his ankles and ripped over the sleeves.

He was pathetic.

* * *

**TBC...**


	6. Reading the Hints

**Author's Note; **I had a lot of fun writing Itachi's POV because it turned out rather silly in the end. Shisui's POV gave a bit of insight about the mind of a shinobi. And Snape? Well I always have fun with writing in his POV.

YAY! Longer chapter!

Next chapter, Harry's coming in.

Thanks for all the Favourites and reviews.

* * *

Shisui could only stare disbelievingly.

The Leader of the Dementors was a _child._

Blearily, he note that he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up so high. Shinobi should always be prepared for anything. Even if it was finding out that a person of great power and status was a pitiful snivelling child. Because the boy standing in front of him could be nothing more than a child.

A part of him told him that he was being hypocritical, what with his cousin only being 11 years young. He quickly rebuked that Itachi was ANBU and no matter what age, you stopped being children once you became ANBU. _Hell_, people stopped being children once they became Genin! That is, besides the exceptionally young and talented ones, like Kakashi-senpai and Itachi had been. A fact that his cousin had been rather pissed about.

Shisui stood silently, observing the boy, until he heard soft footsteps. Judging from how loud they were, it was Itachi walking towards them. And sure enough, a second later, his ANBU partner passed him and knelt before the cowering child. Slowing, Raven drew out a clawed hand through the gap where his cloak had been unzipped. He showed the boy his palm, as if he was dealing with a frightened animal, and calmly waited for the terrified wide-eyed look to disappear.

By this point, Snape-san and Dumbledore-san were watching curiously as well.

In an unhurried manner, Raven gently cupped the boy's cheek and brushed his fingers down his skin. It lingered there for a moment and Shisui couldn't help but compare this to the way that his younger cousin had done that before.

You see, during the first few mission while they were in ANBU, a senior ANBU would accompany them to make sure they didn't stuff something important up. Shisui had just happened to have been the one to follow Itachi on one of his first missions. It had been for the assassination of a prince and Itachi had henged into a fairly young woman with a modest bust but pretty features in a traditional sense. And he had watched as Itachi greeted this prince with a bow and smile before kneeling down, carefully arranging the elaborate kimono around him. Itachi had, still smiling sweetly, placed both hands softly on the enchanted prince's face and drew his fingertips slightly lower. Then, without the slightest change in expression, twisted off the prince's head with a dull snap and let the head fall loosely. Itachi had then sauntered out, greeted the charmed guards outside the room and had been halfway back to Konoha before anyone found the prince's body.

He watched with intrigue, his mind instantly processing the list of ways Itachi could kill the boy. All shinobi had a morbid interest about death, wondering what would happen once they were killed. And there _was _a difference between dying and being killed. Most shinobi were killed on a mission before their twentieth birthdays and the ones who died either peacefully in their sleep or while defending their Village, were envied by those still alive.

If some of them _could_ be called alive. Just because they breathed and went through the motions of the living didn't mean that they were alive.

But no matter how facinated by death Shisui was, he hoped that Itachi controlled himself and didn't do that to the boy as well. Shisui, himself didn't mind all that much. He had see quite a few things more gruesome than the quick decapitation of a child. But he supposed that the _wizards _would not appreciate such a merciful disregard for human life.

Luckily, this time, instead of cracking off the boy's head, Raven stood up and turned away from his near victim. They all waited tensely for his verdict, holding their breath in the horrible silence that Shisui knew Itachi enjoyed. Finally, Itachi deemed the mood dramatic enough and decided to put them out of their misery.

"Leader-san **[1]**," Raven called, but he was not speaking to the boy, seeming to be out right ignoring him in fact. "Please stop this foolish tirade. We only want to discuss business with you."

During a moment of absolute stillness, Shisui wondered if his cousin had finally cracked under all the pressure. He was already making mental plans of how to inform Itachi's will-be-stricken family about his _dreadful_ passing of sanity, when the candles floating in the air flickered alive and the shadowed twisted and writhed.

Shisui instantly shifted into a guarded stance mirroring Raven and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Snape-san and Dumbledore-san draw their wands. Behind his Coyote mask, he smirked and raised an eyebrow.

So this was it, was it?

* * *

Albus carefully scrutinised his surroundings.

They had to be on guard. The Leader had the advantage because he could appear from any direction.

There was a whisper of soft cloth rubbing against floor and a barely audible scrape of nails on something hard. The only reason he had even heard was because he had used a spell, but the two ANBU turned in that direction as well. The shadows distorted into a oddly shaped doorway. Albus fixed a genial smile onto his face and turned to the two ANBU and found them exchanging a quick glance with each other.

"So, should we proceed in this great adventure then, gentlemen?" He received a quick nod as Raven walked sedately to the contorting doorway. Coyote took a backward glance at the blankly staring child, before following his partner. Severus glared disgruntledly at the two ANBU before sneering and stalking after them. Dumbledore completed the group and disappeared though the door.

He didn't see the doll-like child drop to the floor like a marionette with its strings ripped out.

Nor did he hear the sound of brittle little bones ripping through pale skin and a muffled thump as the body collapsed into itself.

The shadows closed up on itself and sunk back into the walls, mixing with the crimson that formed a puddle under the mess of flesh, sinew and bone.

The Dementor melted into the floor and the candles snuffed themselves out.

Even if they had wanted to, they wouldn't be able to escape.

* * *

Itachi graciously admitted that the Leader was a great strategist.

That puppet back in the Main Entrance had been a marvelous creation, seeming nearly like a human being.

But what first gave it away was the way the puppet's pupils hadn't contracted or dilated when he had moved his hand closer. It had followed his hand's movements but no change in its pupils.

The second was its heartbeat. It was regular, not at all matching the terrified expression painted all over its face and body language.

Last of all had been when he had placed a hand on its head to check its chakra system. Or the chakra system it was supposed to have. Instead of having a complicated network of chakra 'veins', there was only a pulsing ball of chakra that was disturbingly similar to the Kyuubi no Kitsune's had been. When Itachi had grabbed Dumbledore-san's hand to travel to Hogwarts, he had checked the old man's chakra system. It had been the same as a civilian's and just as underdeveloped. But ultimately, if the puppet had been human, it should not have had such an odd and demonic energy.

It wasn't like anything worth while ever came by easily. Under his mask, his face turned deapan as he was once again proven right.

Their guide had ditched them.

Currently, the Leader had the advantage. They were in a large mansion, walking down a barely lit corridor with no guide while the Leader was in his comfort zone. Had he been a lesser man (he wasn't a boy, dammit), Itachi would have backed down and surrendered. But being who he was, he accepted the unspoken challenge. They may have been disadvantaged, but Itachi was a damn brilliant strategist as well and there was no way he would lose so easily. This was the boy (MAN!) who had nearly beaten Shikaku Nara, a man a generation his senior and ex-ANBU Captain of the Tactics Division, at shoji.

The weird shadow doorway appeared again and Itachi was mentally tallying up how much chakra he was willing to dispense to invent a jutsu that did that. Wishing he could snack on some pocky, he pushed it open and let the doors swing away dramatically. Hmm... he was acting rather out of character today. Must be pocky deprivation.

Pocky was, after all, the holy food that Kami-sama had gifted the world to save countless sanities from pesty little brothers.

And also to tempt many souls to the dark side. That sounded kind of like the forbidden apple that the Eve had eaten.

But who the hell cared about an apple? Itachi would willingly join the dark side anyway, as long as he got a life supply of pocky to go along with it. He was already split between light and dark in the first place. And grey was _such_ a boring shade compared to black. If thoughts could shrug, it would have then.

Might as well.

He drew out a box of pocky from no where and munch happily on it, disregarding the fact that he was breaking quite a few laws of physics and the like by doing so while wearing a solid mask.

So sue him.

It wasn't like he was even listed as existing in this dimension.

Hey, why was everyone so quiet suddenly?

Itachi looked up.

* * *

Severus took back every insult or taunt he ever dealt one of his students.

But not any he ever said to _Potter._ As in, both father and son.

He rolled his eyes to himself. He wasn't _that_ scared yet.

Nonetheless, he was still very much petrified.

The Leader was a fucking demon.

A long serpentine tail coiled in rings on the marble floor. It was black with a purple sheen on its scales and joined up a the waist. Pale skin, that told the story of a hermit who hadn't seen the light of the sun in years, contrasted starkly against dark scales. Severus idly wondered what would happen if he suddenly introduce it to the sun. Would it melt or burn? Both sounded pretty interesting.

Moving further upwards Severus confirmed that it was male by the lack of breasts and the Adams apple, but he narrowed at the ribs that stretched ebony skin so much that it bruised. He had pratically no muscle mass and had a very thin face, but not as bad as that brat back at the entrance.

He also had very odd eyes, Seveus noted to himself.

They were wide and naive as if they had been snatched off the face of a child, which didn't fit at all with the catlike slits that replaced his pupil. The color of his eyes was a amethyst violet that Severus had never seen on a human before. Of course, he wasn't dealing with a human anyway.

He forced his eyes to the thing's hair. And nearly whistled in appreciation. Man oh man, how he wished he had such silky hair, but he could do without the whiteness, thank you very much. Severus glared jealousy. The thing probably didn't even brush it, yet it was way better than his.

He turned his furious glare at the brat who was the reason his hair was forever doomed to suffer in greasiness. And his expression darkened further when the brat only tipped his head back mockingly. He drew out his wand, ready to blast off the little bastard's head after having to spend so much-!

"Naga **[2]**?"

"You could say so, but I can be any gender I want. Nagini **[3]** works just as well."

Severus' back snapped up straight in a rush.

* * *

**[1] **Itachi called the leader '-san' because ANBU only called the Hokage '-sama' or someone they deemed worthy of their respect.

**[2] **The Naga is a diety or class of entity that takes the form of a giant snake - mostly King Cobra.

**[3]** The female form of the Naga. But Snape reacts because that is also the name of Voldemort's snake which is a King Cobra.


	7. Negotiations

**AN; **Yay, Harry's in this chapter. And we get to see from McGonagall's POV! Finally, I wrote from a female's POV! I'm so proud of myself! And I love writing Nagini for some reason... Maybe because I based its character off my own...

Once again, thank you for your support! Please PM me or review if you have any inquiries.

_/This is parseltongue/_

* * *

He felt oddly weightless.

As if he wasn't totally there.

"Y-you! You're the Dark Lord's snake!"

He focused on the greasy human that leaked an oily power from his left forearm.

"And you... one of Tom's pet slaves?"

He walked- no. He slithered forward like a snake, the sound of scales sliding across a marble floor and scales rubbing against scales as his tails uncoiled followed him. Taking great amusement out of the slimy human's spluttering, he leaned over the human with a leer stretching his lips. He flicked out his tongue, tasting the human's scent that lingered in the air.

Herbs, grease and smoke.

_Yuck._

"Ohh... so you _are_ one of Tom's. You're the one who made the potions and always lived in the basement." He hissed out, swaying on the spot, serpentine eyes narrowed and lip-less mouth peeled back baring his fangs, imitating a snake ready to strike very well.

His eyes flickered to the two humans who tried to merge with the shadows.

Now, this was interesting. Wizards were interacting with the shinobi, were they?

He tilted his head to the side, listening to the silent report that his minion gave. An ominous smirk crept onto his face. Oh, Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban? This he _had_to see from the front row. He leaned back into a lazy slouch and directed his words at the human hidden in the shadows with the bird mask. That human was obviously the smartest if he was the one to figure out his last minute test. His eye visibly twitched when he noticed a packet of rapidly disappearing food in the human's claws.

_Wait_- since when did _humans_ have claws?

"You wanted to negotiate? How about I just go to that school with you?"

"Why would you want to do that?" He glared at the old human that smelt of sweets and dying flesh who answered instead. The old human looked quite familiar as well. Oh yes, that one that Tom was reluctant to fight with. The one with too many useless middle names and odd titles. What in the world was a Mugwump anyway?

So the human was worried about his silly little school? Ha, as if he would ever be bothered with such _useless_ activities.

"I haven't had so much excitement for 13 years," The old human and the Oily One flinched at that. "I'm bored out of my bloody mind. What did you expect, human?"

"How will you come with us? You cannot be seen in that form by the students." Finally, the Bird Masked One spoke.

He hissed a laugh at the surprised expressions when all of his skin hardened into scales, he shrunk and his flesh and bones twisted into a serpentine form at the same time. Silently gliding up a robed leg, he wove his body onto the shoulders of the Slick One who he could feel minute shakes from. His tongue flicked out again, tasting the fear flowing in waves off the human.

Wasn't this _fun_?

Harry woke in a daze, glad to find himself back in the room he had in the Leaky Cauldron.

What the hell had that been?

He quickly brushed it off as his overactive imagination and pushed it out of his mind.

* * *

Minerva was in a terrible _terrible_ mood.

Even _worse_a mood than when she had discovered that James Potter and Sirius Black had been breeding doxies and green mint bunnies together in the Staffroom!

Both Severus and Albus had up and left, leaving only a note that explain absolutely _nothing_ to placate her. It only made her all the more worried, which also likened the chances that she was going to hex the hell out of them!

Merlin's moldy left foot's pinky's toe nail!

She had been pacing in the Headmaster's office, wringing her hands and awaiting their return for days. She stopped, pulled out the wrinkled note from her robe pocket and read it again.

* * *

_Dear Minerva,_

_Severus (somewhat reluctantly) and I are off to seek alliance of sorts._

_Do not be concerned; we will be back before the Sorting Ceremony._

_The only reason we will not be back sooner is that the place we are travelling to is said to be surrounded by miles of snow._

_Please do invite yourself to my assortment of sweets._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

* * *

Minerva glared at the innocent piece of paper which somehow managed to animate itself and cringe away from her.

It was the day that school was starting and they still weren't back.

Damn Albus and his ability to disappear without leaving at least a trace so that she could hunt him down with.

There had been no magical residue for her to read, so he must have travelled by foot. She began to mentally swear in all the languages she knew, including Ancient Greek and Old Babylonian.

Just when she was up to Ancient Prussian, the door to the office swept open and in came a cheerily smiling Albus and a Severus who was scowling worse than usual. She checked that they had no major injuries, smiled satisfiedly to herself and then launched into a single woman-ed crusade.

Minerva would still be cackling inwardly at the Feast when Albus warily edged away from her and Severus moodily rubbed his multi-colored bruises.

* * *

Harry swore that he could hear hissing.

He didn't tell Ron and Hermoine, because they would probably start panicking and worrying that the last year's events were repeating.

He rubbed his scar absent mindedly as he concentrated on the hisses.

_/Salazar's none existent lovechild with Rowena! You two smell like those stupid big orges. And Blondie smells familiar. In fact, so does Ogre 1 and Ogre 2. Not that I want to know how you smell.../_

Harry stifled a laugh, having a shot at who the hissing was referring to. Malfoy and his human shields had just left after they had taken a closer look at Professor Lupin.

_/Hmm... is that drowned dog I smell? And new parchment and freshly mown grass. Hmm... polish and wood. And- wait. Is that a rat I smell? Too oily and... heh, haven't thought of how to link smell with betrayal yet. And oh my!... Owl! Taasstttyyyyyyy... Now M__oss__ and Dirt boy and Flower Girl Human are going in. Finally!/_

The compartment door slid open and Neville and Ginny walked.

Then there was a hiss and a giant snake swayed in.

Harry's eyes nearly popped out as everyone leapt onto the seats and the snake slithered closer. It raised itself up higher and stared into his eyes, tongue tasting the air.

_/My, don't you look like my Tom?/_

_T-tom...?_

**

* * *

**

Spoiler;

The reason Harry could see into Nagini's mind was because they are both Horcruxes of Voldemort. I know this connection only happened later, but Nagini wasn't actively interested in the outside world in the book.

And also, Nagini wasn't confirmed to be with Voldemort until the beginning of the 4th book. So this Nagini really could be doing all this.


End file.
